Romford Market will soon be open on Sundays
Last week, it was revealed Romford Market would begin opening on Sundays, in addition to the existing market days on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.
Dagenham Sunday Market announced it would close as a result of social distancing rules impacting the number of traders and customers that would be able to visit the site.
The news that it would close down was met with widespread disappointment but led to calls for some traders to move to Romford instead.
Speaking to Time 107.5 this afternoon, Council Leader Damian White said: “I virtually met with the chairman and deputy chairman of the Romford Market Traders Association to talk about what the council could do to support them in reopening but also anything we can do to support the evolution of the market.
“Something that was raised was that Dagenham Market had announced it was going to close. So we are looking at whether we can open the market on a Sunday, giving preferential right of access to existing traders and then any vacant bays or pitches we can offer to the wider community of traders, particularly those that were in Dagenham Market and that way we can hopefully try to use it as a catalyst to create some interest and a sense of direction for Romford.
“I think Romford Market needs to be invested in and does need to change and evolve – and that doesn’t mean we need to do dramatic changes. But there are some small amendments we can do, working with the traders, to enhance the market offering.”
He also floated the idea of relocating the market to South Street instead of Market Place to move it into “the epicentre of Romford.”
“That would only be successful, and I’d only want to do it, if the existing traders are supportive of those approaches,” Cllr White said.
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